


More Than a Memory

by Shunkan_Romantica



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Angst, Branjie, Depression, Developing Relationship, Drama, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Kidnapping, M/M, Mental Instability
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-03-08 23:23:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 16,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18904762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shunkan_Romantica/pseuds/Shunkan_Romantica
Summary: Brooke Lynn couldn't help blaming herself every time she heard her name. Maybe if she had lost that lipsync back then, maybe Vanjie would still be alive.Years after her death, she sees her again in the street turning Brooke Lynn's world upside down. Who is she and why does she look so much like Vanjie?





	1. Chapter 1

They never imagined what was about to happen.

They were to be isolated from the outside world as they went into a competition that would change their lives forever. 

Well, maybe one of them did. 

Miss Vanessa Vanjie of House Mateo, already knew what she was getting into. This was her second time competing. Even though she had been on the show for only the first episode, that’s all it took for her to become one of the most popular queens in Drag Race history. 

She knew she didn’t win the race but she didn’t lose it either. Once she became viral, her life completely changed. By the end of season ten, there was not a drag race fan who didn’t know who Vanjie was.That was all the encouragement she needed for her to step up her game and make good use of the opportunities it brought her. She got to travel and perform in many different places as well as to polish her art. 

Fast forward a year later and she was given the opportunity to get into the race again. This was not something she had to think twice. It was an immediate ‘Yes,’ and this time, she was going to snatch the crown for herself.

What she never counted on, was that she would end up falling for her competition.

Brooke Lyn Hytes, a very talented ballerina originally born in Canada and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. Ever since he was very young, he wanted to become a dancer. After many years of tough training and hard work, she accomplished her goal and became a principal ballerina in ‘Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo.’ It was one of the accomplishments she was most proud of, but she was absolutely certain she could do more, so much more.

After several auditions, Brooke was finally given the chance to be a part of the cast of the Race’s eleventh season. She knew she had it all, her every move was harmony and perfection. She was going for it with the sole intention of winning the title. 

They had heard from each other from other queens and sometimes they got to be at the same gig but at different performing times. They had crossed each other very few times in dressing rooms but only to say a quick ‘Hi’. 

They were both eager to see what this one in a lifetime opportunity had in store for them.

Once in the workroom, Brooke couldn’t help feeling happy for Vanjie. She definitely deserved this second chance. 

On the other hand, Vanjie just saw him as competition. She had gone through this before and she was aiming straight for the crown. That's what she had originally intended. It wasn’t until Brook Lynn started taking everything off, that she found herself staring at his well toned body and his seductive facial expressions. 

He was one of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen.

After being introduced to the rest of the girls, they were now able to spend time with all of them in the hotel. She couldn’t get him out of her head, Vanjie looked forward to getting to know him.

Brooke Lynn was a very modest man, he knew the other girls were competition but they were also already his sisters, so he was also eager to getting to know them as well. 

It wasn’t until lunch time that they got to share time together.  They were in a group of five, talking about day to day stuff and each other’s work. Everyone was interested in hearing Vanjie’s prior experience on her first runway. Even though it hadn’t gone well, she told them everything they needed to know so they could be ready for it and have an idea. Brooke Lynn thought that was very sweet of her. 

They continued sharing experiences as one by one the girls around them went to their respective rooms to try to relax a bit and get ready for the following day. Vanjie and Brooke Lynn were left alone in the hotel’s buffet talking about their lives, their careers, their families and the things they liked. They didn’t know they had been talking for almost two hours until Brooke Lynn suggested they went to his room so they could continue chatting more comfortably, to which Vanjie agreed. 

The afternoon that had started with a heartfelt conversation, had ended in countless shows of affection and the realization that there was something special between the two.

They both felt the universe had conspired to get them together right at this crucial point in their lives.

No one would ever think then, that death would claim the life of one of them, turning the life of the other one into hell itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This pilot just came to my head out of nowhere. I'm trying out this format, predominantly narrative and less dialogue. Now the big question, should this be continued? Do you want to know what happened to Vanjie? Or should I just forget about it and update my other story faster?


	2. Chapter 2

The competition went on marvelously. 

They were both very mature about the fact that they were in a competition. No matter what they did, there would only be one sole winner. This was not All-Stars, this was a regular season, the eleventh season of Rupaul’s Drag Race. Even if they got to the final three, only one of them would win. That was their major objective, they wanted to win. It gave them the drive to do their best at all times, even against each other in every single challenge.

Right off at the first challenge they were both in the top. 

Throughout the season, the fans fell in love with both girl’s talents. Vanjie was the honest and loud friend everybody wanted to have and Brook Lynn was also so nice, grounded and just flawless. 

They kept their relationship to themselves for a few days. 

It wasn’t until Vanjie got to be in the bottom that Brooke Lynn’s concern for her spiked to the roof making her unable to keep her hands off Vanjie. She kissed her, trying to comfort her. Vanjie reciprocated the kisses, feeling her concern and affection. Right there everyone knew that there was something going on between the two. Never in Drag Race history had this ever happened before, not at this level.

They didn’t know what they were getting into. They didn’t comment much about it if the subject was brought up during the competition. They only said they were giving their relationship a chance and that was it. 

It all went smoothly until the very end, in which they were both among the bottom 3, fighting for a spot in the finale. They knew someone else needed to lipsync instead of at least one of them, they didn’t think it was fair. This is how they realized their relationship had messed up the competition for them.

_ They had been set up. _

When they let everyone around them know they were together, they unconsciously set themselves up for this moment. It was show business after all.

Vanjie and Brooke Lynn lip-synced for their lives that day. They left their heart and souls on the runway. Everyone watching was so upset it had come to this. They knew the production was only doing this for the rating. It was not fair, at all.

Once done, the winner was announced, Brooke Lynn’s name pronounced. 

Vanjie kissed her lover bye, and left the stage in her own particular way. Vanjie couldn’t blame anybody, if she had to lose to someone, she was glad it had been Brook Lynn. They had done their best and competed fairly. They were both satisfied with themselves. They wouldn’t have had it any other way.

The final four contestants were publicly announced and now they were one week from the grand finale.

That afternoon, they had gathered all the contestants for activities and a photo shoot at a location in a specific part of the woods. Once they were done with it, they asked the final four to stay to finish extra activities scheduled for them.

They were told they had fifteen minutes to spare, which was all Brooke Lynn and Vanjie needed to find the perfect place to be intimate outside in nature as the sun set in the horizon. They both knew at this point they were not giving their relationship a chance any longer, they were already in one.

Vanjie had to leave already so Brooke Lynn made a mental note, once she finished with her schedule, to ask Vanjie what she thought of being formally together.

They walked holding hands to the parking lot.  “Only top four are staying huh?" Vanjie said as she pressed Brooke Lynn's hand.

Brooke Lynn just nodded, wishing Vanjie could stay longer. "Yeah... I hope we finish quickly, so I can spend the rest of the night with you."

"It's okay baby." Vanjie said as they reached the parking lot.

They remembered there had been three vans in which the girls had been transported to the event. Once in the parking lot, they realized there was only one van left for Vanjie since the other two had already left with five queens in each of them.

She didn’t mind since she was getting a ride of her own.  Vanjie stood on her toes and kissed Brooke Lynn bye passionately as she asked her to finish quickly so they could spend more time together. She got in the car and waved to her lover. 

That was the last time Brooke Lynn saw Vanessa. 

Few minutes into the ride, it started pouring rain. 

Vanjie was in the back seat of the car looking at how the windshield was completely blurry. “Maybe we should stop.” She said as she leaned on the edge of the back seat and held the seat in the front of her.

“Everything is under control Miss.” The copilot reassured her. 

But Vanjie didn’t feel safe at all. “No! I can’t! I don't wanna die. Stop please!” She demanded.

“Miss, I’ve already told you, it's-”

All of a sudden, Vanjie felt the car sliding towards the side and then roll horribly through a steep cliff.  She watched the lights of the car flickering through rocks and plants as the car rolled down and she screamed to the top of her lungs. 

Once the rolling stopped, the lights aimed at a small stream, making the water shine. 

That was the last thing she saw.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually surprised about how this story seems to be writing itself. I swear, out of nowhere ideas come to my head and I find myself typing like a mere robot. I like where this is going, didn't think I'd like it this much.  
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Brook Lynn had already finished work when she texted Vanjie. She had texted her several times but she hadn’t replied to any of the messages. It was a bit odd, she thought. Sometimes she took her time on replying back when she was busy but not that long. 

All of the girls that had stayed longer were now in the van going back to the hotel. 

They noticed how the car seemed to slow down as they reached and area that was filled with white smoke coming from below. As they went forward, they saw a bunch of police cars, firefighters and two ambulances at the curve of the road. It was a shocking view, the metal bars around the road were broken and there was smoke all over. They could tell a car had fallen down through it and it did not look good. 

Once they passed that, the ride to the hotel was pretty quick. 

When they reached it, they saw a police car parked right in front of it. Police men were talking to people whom Brooke Lynn recognized as members of the staff they had worked with for the past few days.  When they reached the main doors, all of the queens got off, Brooke Lynn among them. He could see the faces of the staff talking to the police, they were very upset, one of them was crying. 

Brooke Lynn stared at them and they looked back at him, right when they made eye contact, they gasped and covered their mouths.  “What happened?” She asked to the staff member that was leading them inside the hotel. 

The young girl in charge of them shook her head. “I don’t know but I’m sure they will inform us soon. Let me take you to your rooms.” 

The way upstairs seemed to take forever, for some reason everyone was very quiet. They all knew something was up, but they didn’t know what.  They said good night and then each of them went to their respective rooms.

Brooke Lynn was sharing a room with Vanjie, so she got very excited to finally get back to her. She inserted her hotel room card through the slot in the door and opened it. 

“Hey boo!” She said as she went in, and closed the door behind her. There was no response.  “Boo?” She walked inside their bedroom and checked the bathroom. Everything was just the way they left it earlier in the afternoon. She was certain of this because Vanjie’s clothes were still on the floor. Before they left, she had mentioned she would put them away when she got back.

She was supposed to have got there like an hour ago. She grabbed her phone and called Vanjie, but it went straight to voicemail.  Brook Lynn thought it was odd. Where could Vanjie have gone?  She changed into pajamas and wiped her make up off as she thought on the places she could be. She thought that maybe she was with the other girls in their rooms, or maybe she had gone to get something to eat. But why would she turn her phone off?

Once done, she decided to go and ask the girls that were staying next door if they had seen Vanjie. 

She opened the door and as she was about to knock next door, she heard her name being called.

“Mr. Brock Hayhoe?” When she turned around, she saw whom she recognized as the main producer of the event they were there for, accompanied by a police officer. The producer looked sad, his eyes very red and the police officer looked very serious. 

“Yes? That’s me.” He said somewhat intimidated.

“We need to have a word with you.” The producer was a very tall and a well-built man, but right now he just looked devastated.

“Sure. Is everything okay?” Brook Lynn said as she approached them with a puzzled look on her face.

The police officer shook his head. “It would be better if you take a sit so we can tell you what has happened.”

Brook Lynn felt like time stopped. He grabbed his chest feeling like there was a knot forming right in the middle of it. “Oh my God. What happened?” 

The producer saw her room was still open, so he went inside first and let the police officer and Brook Lynn in.

The officer took Brooke Lynn towards the nearest chair and made him sit down. The officer crossed his arms. “I believe you are acquainted with Jose Cancel.”

That was Vanjie’s boy name. “Yes, he is my boyfriend.” He immediately replied to the officer, paying very close attention to him.

“I’m very sorry to inform you that this afternoon, he was involved in a car accident. The van getting him back to the hotel fell through a cliff by the side of the road. I’m very sorry, he didn’t make it.”

Brook Lynn froze. His breathing became faster, his hands became cold, his sight lost. 

The officer continued speaking. “The impact was too much for them, only the passenger sitting next to the driver was able to get out of the car before it bursted into flames and his condition is critical.”

The producer sat next to Brook Lynn at that point, ready for whatever her reaction was going to be. Brooke Lynn just remained very still.

“I’m very sorry sir.” The police officer said.

The producer placed an arm around Brooke Lynn’s back, trying to pat him. She seemed lost. In her mind the words ‘she didn’t make it’ were still resonating in her head. That was impossible. It was Vanjie they were talking about. Vanjie was not dead. They were lying to her, this was not happening. 

“No.” It was the only thing she managed to say, still with a blank stare. “That's not true.” She looked at the producer.

“I’m really sorry, his family was already informed, his mom is on her way.” The producer said.

“What? No! You are lying! She’s not dead!”  He quickly stood up, ran towards the door and got out of the room. Once out, he found the girls outside of their rooms, their eyes were red, all of them were crying. Right next to them there were staff members and police officers.

He approached them, the closest one was Silky.  Brooke Lynn grabbed her by the shoulders. “Have you seen Vanjie? Is she with you?”

Silky was heartbroken to see her sister like that but before he could hug her or reply, Brooke Lynn let her go and grabbed the next closest person who was Nina. “Have you seen her Nina? Tell me she is with you! Please!” Brooke Lynn clung into Nina’s robe.

Nina who was also devastated by the news, softly grabbed Brooke Lynn’s cheeks, lifting her face to make eye contact with her.  “Brooky, she’s gone, baby. Vanjie’s gone.”

Nina saw how Brooke Lynn’s face went from desperation to overwhelming grief as she buried her face on Nina’s chest sobbing and screaming. Brooke Lynn's legs gave out and fell on her knees as she held on to Nina for dear life. Nina also kneeled as well so she could comfort her friend. She embraced her as carefully as she could, caressing her hair and whispering in her ear that everything was going to be okay. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was sad to write. Specially with everything going on in the real world, such happy times. We'll have a new Drag Race winner, that's so exciting! Hope this chapter didn't bring you down too much.


	4. Chapter 4

The community was completely devastated over the loss of the young drag queen. 

Vanjie's story from the beginning had been so special for everyone. In less than two years she had captivated the hearts of the entire fandom. No other drag queen in history had ever achieved that.

The grand finale was postponed two weeks from the planned date to respect Vanjie’s memory. As the days passed, more details of the accident came to light. 

There was conflict among the investigators regarding what really happened to the van. Some of them attributed the accident to the rain since it had been pouring right around the time the accident happened that day. Others insisted that the driver had been speeding which made him lose control of the vehicle, and taking into consideration the fact that it was raining, the car probably slipped as the driver made the turn. 

Everyone knew the if that had been the case then the driver should have slowed down or even stopped the car all together. Sadly, there was no way to know for sure now since he had been killed in the accident and the copilot was now in a coma from the severe head injuries he suffered. 

The authorities stated that Vanjie and the driver were the ones that got the worst part. When the authorities got to the site, they found the car already burning in flames. The rain had stopped by then. They were only able to help the copilot as he was laying unconscious, meters away from the burning car. 

When fire fighters got there and controlled the fire, there had been no trace of the driver and Vanjie whatsoever. The van had been completely consumed by the fire. They were only able to see the carcass of the vehicle.

Only the people close to the deceased were informed about the authorities' conclusions.  For days Vanjie’s family along with Brooke Lynn tried to look for him by the woods and the surrounding area of the accident. But things looked grim when they thought about it throughly. The road was very close to the place they fell. It wouldn’t have taken them long to reach it if they got out and walked towards it.  This is what made everyone think that they had died inside the car due to the fire. There was no trace of Vanjie or the driver at all.

_ They weren’t found.  _

The investigators were certain Vanjie and the driver had died in the fire.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Brooke Lynn had canceled all the gigs she had for the next couple of weeks. She even refused to attend the grand finale of Drag Race.

_ She felt guilty. _

In her mind, she thought of all the things she could have done differently so that Vanjie would still be alive. She blamed herself for letting Vanjie get on to that van. She should have made her wait until she was finished so that they would head to the hotel together. She blamed herself for winning the lip-sync, had Vanjie won, she would have been top four and she would have stayed in the woods that afternoon instead of Brooke Lynn. She blamed herself for falling for her, had she not been in a relationship with Vanjie, she would have gotten faster in the van and would have arrived to the hotel safely.

Brooke Lynn couldn’t get these thoughts out of her head. She felt she had failed her lover causing her demise. She locked herself up in her place, refusing to see anybody. 

About a week after the incident, once the search was over, the people close to Brooke Lynn reached out to her and realized how depressed she had become. One of her closest friends took her to a therapist against her will. The therapist tried to objectively tell her how to handle her emotions. It did help her to cope with what just happened, at least to a degree. It showed her a way to put her feelings aside for a little while so she could focus on the work she still had to do.

She had clearly stated that she didn’t want to go to the finale, but she had forgotten that she was bound by a contract to do so. The other queens approached her and talked her into attending. They thought it could be a good distraction after everything that happened, and they also mentioned that there was going to be a special part in the show in which they would honor Vanjie and she needed to be there more than anyone for that. 

That kind of encouraged her to attend. She was not fully convinced though, but in the end she made the decision to attend.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The day of the finale came and everyone was in their best drag looking happy, cheerful and excited. 

Brooke Lynn couldn’t deny she was happy as well to see everyone gathered, but still there were some things that were like triggers for her. Some of the people attending the event were dressed up imitating Vanjie’s outfits for the challenges. To the other queens it probably just made them happy since that was the way they were honoring her. But for Brooke Lynn, right when she saw one of the outfits, she remembered extra little details, like the way her tan back looked when she was tying up Vanjie’s corset or the funny things she said as she was pulling up a zipper.

Those memories made her sad.  She looked away every time she felt like she was going to cry and tried to remember what her therapist had told her on coping with that. She just smiled, took a deep breath and moved on.

The ceremony went smoothly until the time to remember and honor Vanjie came. 

The queens were told to dress in one of Vanjie’s looks from the season and they all did. Brooke Lynn was lucky enough to have some of the pieces Vanjie herself had actually worn. They all stood in the middle of the stage as they turn around and saw a video tribute to her. As soon as Vanjie came on the screen Brooke Lynn couldn’t hold it in any longer. She started crying as the queens close to her approached her and hugged her trying to comfort her. When the video was over, Vanjie’s mom went on to the stage and spoke about how thankful she was to everyone for showing her son so much love during the last few years of his life. Brooke Lynn couldn’t stop herself from approaching her and hugging her as she finished her speech. 

There was not a single dry eye in the audience.  When mama Vanjie was done, everyone stood up and clapped.

The show went on. 

The queens lipsynced against each other, leaving only Brooke Lynn and Yvie Oddly as finalists.  It was now time to record each of the girls separately pretending they had won the crown. 

Yvie went first. Aquaria put the crown on her and handed her the scepter. Brooke Lynn saw how her co-finalist received it and raised it up in the air. Brooke Lynn looked at her and clapped absentmindedly, she hadn’t really thought about what she was going to do if she received the crown and scepter. Losing Vanjie had been so traumatizing and life-changing for her that winning the title and celebrating for that had become such a banal idea. 

It was her turn now.  She saw Aquaria getting close to her with the crown. 

As Aquaria was placing the crown on her head, she thought she could hear Vanjie telling her how happy she was for her. Deep down she knew Vanjie would be like that, it was just so painful not to have her there. She received the scepter and looked at the crowd, who was giving her a standing ovation. 

“Wherever you are, this is for you baby.” She said as tears started streaming down her cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so sad to write this last few chapters. Also, I hadn't realized I had wrote canon in the first two chapters, I've never done that before. I finished this chapter in the morning but it took me so long to edit. I hope you were able to understand it well. Next chapter should be up by monday. Hopefully I can do a chapter a day, next week. Fingers crossed.  
> I'd love to hear what you think about this story. Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

After winning the crown, Brook Lynn’s fame and popularity sky rocketed. She wasn’t expecting to win at all and she had not been ready to affront all the things that went along with it. 

Her agent started receiving calls from many different celebrity representatives asking for her to be on their artists’ videos and also from clubs from all around the world that wanted her to perform in their shows. Her agenda was completely packed. She had gigs scheduled for the entire year after the win.

Her victory was an amazing opportunity to propel her career and her financial status further, the only downside to it was that it wouldn’t help her to cope with her lover’s death. 

The announcement had worsened her already compromised mental state. 

Immediately after she won, all her fans were so happy for her and congratulated her success. But sadly, there was a very small minority that left comments on her social platforms mentioning how Vanjie was supposed to have won. There weren’t many but just coming across one of them, it became a trigger that made her feel incredibly guilty about what happened and nothing her friends told her made her think otherwise. She was taken to therapist’s appointments almost daily at first and then every other day. It took about 3 weeks until people close to her could see improvement. A couple of weeks later she felt calmer and was ready just enough to fulfill her agenda. Working in all the gigs she had been booked for, it helped distract her mind greatly. But it hadn’t been easy. 

Whenever she was in a gig and was offered alcohol, she received everything and she wasn’t able to stop drinking once she started. She became drunk quickly and started crying over Vanjie. When this was starting to get noticed by the public eye, the community of drag queens helped her by not giving her any alcohol during gigs among many other things such as reporting published photos of her while drunk and not mentioning Vanjie in front of her. Hearing the mention of Vanjie’s name made her feel sad and affected the way she performed.

With the support of the people close to her and the community of performers she was able to pull through. 

By the end of her reigning year, she was very satisfied with her achievements.  When the finale of the 12th season came and it was her time to pass on the crown, she was more than glad to do so. She had never been so busy her entire life, it had been a tough year. She couldn’t deny she immediately felt a heavy weight lifted off her shoulders when she passed on the crown to the next winner. 

It was time to rest and get away.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

She decided to take a few weeks off. 

It had been months since the last time she went to sleep without setting up her alarm for the next day. She was home in Nashville, laying in bed. She had been so busy she could count the times she had slept in it with her fingers.

She stared at the ceiling thinking about what she was going to do that day, she hadn’t planned anything. She stood up and left her room. Her house was filled with boxes of brand new furniture she hadn’t got time to open. She went to the kitchen and the only things that were already open and working were the refrigerator and the stove. She opened the fridge to find it mostly empty, there was only a little box of six eggs in one of its shelves and a bottle of orange juice. 

“Scrambled eggs it is.” She took out the box and the orange juice and she made herself some breakfast as she scrolled through instagram. She had received a message from one of her friends asking her to come over to his place to spend the day together. She figured after getting some groceries she could go to his friend’s house.

She spent the day filling up her fridge, opening up some boxes and decorating her brand new place. Once done, she wanted to relax and so she decided to go to her friends’ house.

It was about a half an hour drive from her place and she had to take the highway. 

She was listening to music as she held on to the steering wheel. The side she was on was moving forward slowly because of an accident on the opposite side of the road. She hated seeing police cars and ambulances gathered. 

It took her back to the time Vanjie was lost.

She couldn't look at those vehicles the same anymore. Once she was driving close to the site of the accident she looked away to the car on her right to just get her sight away from there and distract herself.

She gave a quick look at the car next to her and its passenger who happened to be looking straight back at him.

In a split second, Brooke Lynn widened her eyes and her jaw dropped. She felt her breathing becoming faster and her hands immediately becoming cold. 

‘It couldn’t be. That’s impossible’ She thought as she turned her eyes back to the road of in front of her.

She was so terrified, she had gone through this before. This wasn’t the first time, her mind was playing tricks on her again. The first few weeks after Vanjie passed away this happened almost every day and she didn’t want to go back to that state. It had been so hard for her to move on, she couldn’t give one step back now after all the effort she had put into getting better.

She shook her head and started saying rapidly what she was told back then to repeat whenever this happened. 'She is gone and resting in peace.' She blinked several times as to clear her mind, she had to calm down, it was all in her head. She had to convince herself that's what it had been, so she took a deep breath and looked to her right for a last look.

In the back seat of a black car, there she was, looking straight back at him. 

Brooke Lynn opened and closed his eyes several times wanting to make sure what he was seeing was real. He lowered his right front seat window to get a better look at the person sitting in the car next to him. His hair wasn’t like he remembered, it was longer up to his shoulders and it covered the entire right half of his face. He had some of his hair behind his left ear, that’s how he was able to see him well. The shape of his mouth and those penetrating brown eyes, he could never forget them and right now they were looking straight back at him. 

Brooke Lynn could’t believe it. 

He was certain he was not seeing things, this was Vanjie. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the week delay! I was so busy last week and to top it all I had to get surgery on friday. Nothing life-threatening, it's all good now. I just need to wear a cast for a week. -_-' It's so itchy it sucks!  
> Anyway, we are now right at the beginning of the most important part of the story and I'm so excited about it! My intention was to write a chapter a day but I couldn't do it last week and I don't think that's possible now either.  
> Hope you have an amazing week! Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

“Dad, I think that man wants to tell me something.”

The man in the driver's seat immediately looked to his left for a quick second and then turned back to face the road ahead. He saw how the blonde man looked desperately at his son. He was yelling something but the windows were closed. He tried to pay close attention without pulling the windows down and was horrified when he realized what the blonde man was saying. 

_ He dreaded hearing that name. It had destroyed him.  _

“Whatever you do, don’t pull the window down!” The man screamed at his son in the back seat. “Hold on, Mikey!” 

The man pressed the accelerator and headed straight. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Brooke Lynn knew who the person he was looking at was. It was Vanjie. She looked different but she had seen those eyes, those lips, it was her. 

Vanjie was wearing a very thin white shirt, it was almost translucent. Brooke Lynn remembered the time they both wore impeccable matching white shirts when they went out for dinner to a fancy restaurant once. Vanjie had looked so handsome then. Her condition seemed different now, she looked thin and the look in her eyes reflected exhaustion. She didn't look good.

“Vanjie! Vanjie!!” Brooke Lynn screamed at her."Vanjie!!!" He saw her say something to the driver as she was calling for her repeatedly. He saw how the driver gave a quick look towards him and immediately accelerated.

This caught Brooke Lynn completely off guard. He couldn’t lose Vanjie, he needed to make that car stop. 

Brooke Lynn tried to accelerate to maintain the distance between both cars even, but there was a car in front of him so he immediately decided to switch to the lane Vanjie was in to follow her. He was now behind Vanjie’s car, going God knows how many miles per hour definitely exceeding the speed limit, but he was close to her and he had no intention of losing her. The black car was so fast and switched lanes so many times, it was like a police persecution. But Brook Lynn was right behind it all the time. 

He had to look at her once more, he had to make sure it was her. 

He made sure there was no car on the lane next to the car Vanjie was in and quickly switched lanes and drove his car right next to Vanjie. 

He was not expecting to see what he saw. Vanjie was hugging herself, one of her hands holding on to the part of the seat belt that went across her, bouncing back and forth screaming something to the driver. She gave Brooke Lynn a quick glance in which he saw Vanjie was crying, the poor creature looked terrified. 

But it was Vanjie, it was Vanessa Vanjie Mateo.

Both cars were going so fast, then in a split of a second he saw how the black car gave a sudden dangerous turn to the right disappearing. Barely making it into one highway exit abruptly hitting part of the concrete that separated the exit.

“No!” Brooke Lynn screamed.

Brooke Lynn gave a quick look to her rearview mirror and saw a car behind him. “Fuck!” He said hitting the steering wheel. He wanted to press the brakes, turn and go back but there was a car a few meters behind him, he couldn’t do that. 

His breathing became faster, he felt herself getting so anxious, he had to do something. He made an abrupt turn and got out of the right lane of the highway and stopped the car. He was about fifty meters from the exit the black car Vanjie was in had made the turn. 

Still in the driver’s seat, he looked at her surroundings trying to think what to do. No matter what he had to go get her. He backed up the car through the edge of the highway, he intended to make the turn backwards towards the right lane in the highway so that he could take the exit the black car took. 

When he was about to make the turn he heard a siren. He looked at her rearview mirror and saw a police car going towards him.

“No! Please! Fuck! No!”

The police car slowed down as it went next to him and the officer made a motion for him to stop and remain in the vehicle.

Brooke Lynn closed his eyes, fresh in his mind, he could still see Vanjie crying inside the black car .

“Fuck!” Brooke Lynn started tearing up out of frustration. 

He saw how the officer parked his vehicle in front of his car and got off. He was conscious enough to not get out of the car and start yelling to the officer what had just happened. He proceeded to walk towards his car slowly, every second seemed to take forever.

As soon as the officer was close by, he started speaking.

“Officer I beg you, I saw a person who was lost and I was following her! Please we have to get her!”

“Sir, you were going almost 90 miles per hour. Do you realize how dangerous that was for yourself and for the drivers around you?”

“Officer please, I am aware. But I saw a person that disappeared a year ago! She’s getting away! She was in a black car and turned in this exit. Her car was also speeding, they made a dent in the concrete. Please we have to follow them, they are getting away!” Brooke Lynn tried to remain calm but deep down he knew every second he stayed with the officer, it was a second in which Vanjie was getting further away. 

“What’s the name of this person?”

“Jose Cancel.” Brooke Lynn rolled his eyes, it took a lot not to get out of the car and start running towards the exit which was a few meters behind her.

The officer gave multiple taps to a tablet he was holding. 

“Sir, I’m sorry but the person you mentioned, says here he was deceased over a year ago.”

Brooke Lynn shook his head. “You don’t understand! He’s not dead!” How could he explain to the officer the entire situation? Tears were already streaming down his cheeks.

The officer could see how distressed Brooke Lynn looked. He had now placed his head on the back of his hands as he held the steering wheel. His hands were shaking, his condition was not good.

“I’m sorry for your loss sir, but right now you are in no condition to keep driving.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel bad for Brooke Lynn. The poor boy has been through so much and now this.  
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for reading! Comments will be greatly appreciated. ^^


	7. Chapter 7

“Hold on, Mikey!”

He immediately regretted telling his dad about the man in the car next to him.

As soon as his dad noticed about this person trying to tell them something, he started speeding madly through the highway turning left and right between the cars ahead of them. 

“Dad! What are you doing?” He had not expected to get that reaction from his dad. If he had known, he wouldn’t have said anything. Getting into a car was already something he felt uncomfortable doing. Now speeding, that was his biggest fear in the world. He couldn’t take it.

Mikey looked out through the windows and he could see everything passing so fast, it was terrifying. He held on tightly to his seatbelt and closed his eyes but it just made it worse. Every time he was inside a moving car and afraid, even with his eyes closed he could see himself in another car, going just as fast but through the fog under pouring rain. If he kept his eyes closed even longer he knew he would see himself stuck in a car in the middle of the woods. The pain would then turn physical and unbearable so he decided to do whatever he could to keep his eyes open.

He grabbed the seatbelt with all his strength and tried to comfort himself by pressing his arms against his chest. He hated the situation, he kept whispering “I’m gonna be okay, I’m gonna be okay.” As he had been previously taught to do when feeling this way. He bounced back and forth, tears streaming down his face. He felt like he was about to die.

“Dad, please stop!” He screamed to his dad who was driving the car.

“Shut up Miguel!” The driver screamed back.

Mikey’s breathing was so fast he felt he was losing control. “Dad! I beg you please stop!” He said between sobs. “I can’t take this! It’s too much! Please!” He screamed at the top of his lungs.

Mikey then realized that the person who had been trying to communicate with him was now on the lane of his left again. He looked at him one last time right before his dad made an abrupt turn into the nearest exit. 

“Yes!” His dad hit the steering wheel with his fist. He kept driving fast for a couple of minutes.  Mikey was still holding on to the seat belt, sobbing as he looked outside and prayed to anything holly for the car to come to a stop. 

His dad kept driving for about five minutes until he was completely sure he had lost the person following them. He turned around and saw Mikey still holding on tightly to the seatbelt, his hands were shaking and his eyes were bloodshot red. Mikey didn’t look back at him, he had his eyes locked on his own hands holding the seatbelt. He decided to make a stop outside of the road.

“Mikey I’m sorry I had to do that, but that guy seemed dangerous. Did you realize he started following us?” His dad turned to face his son who was still agitated in the back seat.

Mikey still couldn’t face his father.

“Mikey, I know you hate speed but I did this for our own good. I was protecting us.”

Mikey slowly looked up and faced his dad. 

“Just calm down already, okay?” His dad turned his back on him, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. He grabbed a pill from a small container in the dashboard and a bottle of water and handed them to Mikey.

“Here, take it. It’ll make you feel better.”

Mikey extended his hand, received the pill and proceeded to take it. He was so shaken he couldn’t even speak.

“I’m gonna drive very slowly now okay?” His dad looked at him through the rearview mirror.

Mikey just nodded back without saying a word. The car then started going slow and little by little he felt himself becoming dizzy at first and then sleepy. 

It was only a matter of few minutes until the pill took effect and he fell completely asleep.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Brooke Lynn was now at the police station telling an officer about what happened. He told him he had seen Vanjie and that he was a hundred percent sure it was her. When they mentioned to him that Vanjie was listed as a deceased person, he tried to explain to them that her body had not been found because the investigators thought it got burned in the fire. Brooke Lynn kept insisting that Vanjie was still alive and that they needed to do something to get her back.

“Brock?” 

Brooke Lynn looked at the person who had called for him. It was his life long best friend Charlie. They had known each other since forever and Brooke Lynn was actually on the way to his house to spend the rest of the day when the chase happened.

“Charlie!” Brooke Lynn stood up and went to hug his friend.

“Brookie, what happened?” Charlie said still embracing Brooke Lynn.

“Charlie I saw her! You have to believe me! I saw her!” Brooke Lynn broke the hug as he grabbed his best friend from the shoulders.

“Whom?” Charlie frowned.

“Vanjie!” 

Brooke Lynn words had caught Charlie completely off guard.

“You have to believe me Charlie! She was in the car right next to me! I swear to God I saw her! She’s alive! We need to find her!” Brooke Lynn said with a pleading look. 

Charlie closed his eyes and slowly opened them again as he let out a deep sigh. He had been the one who took Brooke Lynn to a therapist for the first time after Vanjie’s accident. He knew firsthand what Brooke Lynn went through after the loss of his lover. It had been a very dark time for Brooke Lynn and for all of the people close to him that also played a part in his recovery. Seeing him like this again, taking steps back to that time, it broke Charlie’s heart. 

“Honey. Why don’t we talk it over at home?” Charlie talked to him like he was a little kid.

“No! But they need to do something about Vanjie!” Brooke Lynn pointed towards the officer he had been talking to. “They need to find her!”

Charlie grabbed both of Brooke Lynn’s hands between his own. “There’s nothing we can do about her Brookie, she’s gone.” Charlie started pulling him towards the exit. 

“She’s not gone! You have to believe me!”

The police officer was giving Charlie a very upset look, as if telling him to please take his friend and go home.

“Brookie, they won’t look for her. She passed away in the accident. She’s gone. We have to leave, the police officers need to continue doing their jobs. We have to go.” Charlie turned a bit more serious. 

Brooke Lynn looked behind her to the officers, they had already dispersed and were doing different tasks around the place. He realized then no matter what he said, no matter what he did, they wouldn’t help him get Vanjie. It got him very upset at the moment, he wanted to scream at them, and tell them to do something. But he knew if he did this, he would make matters even worse. He looked at Charlie who was still holding his hands.

“Brookie please come with me. Let’s go home.” 

Charlie softly pulled him out of the police station to his car.

Brooke Lynn felt numb. They didn’t believe him, and he knew his friend didn’t believe him either. He didn’t even have the strength to resist now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if I put 'Drama' as a tag in this story. I'm gonna go do that right now.  
> Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

They didn’t speak to each other on the way to Charlie’s place. 

Charlie knew Brooke would be mad at him for not standing up for him and being on his side in the police station. Back in there he had seen how agitated Brooke was, the officers wouldn’t have believed him either way and it would have caused more trouble than good.  He knew his friend, he knew he had to wait for Brooke to calm down enough so he could talk to him on his own accord. 

Once they got to Charlie’s place, Brooke went to the living room, sat down on the couch and leaned back staring at the ceiling. His eyes were so red and swollen.  Every time he thought about what happened earlier in the afternoon, he could see Vanjie’s desperate teary eyed face looking straight back at him. He couldn’t get her face out of his mind. He had no doubt it had been her.

Brooke saw Charlie placing a cup of coffee in a small table in front of him and then taking a seat on another sofa next to him. 

Charlie sighed and looked at him. “Will you talk to me now Brock?”

Brooke grabbed the cup of coffee placing both hands around it and stared at the vapor leaving the hot cup. 

“You won’t believe me.” Brooke was not upset but rather withdrawn after what happened in the police station.

“I’ll listen so then we can talk about it, how about that?” Charlie tried to convince him.

Brooke had known Charlie since forever, he was like a brother to him. There was nothing he hid from him and he knew him extremely well. Brooke sighed and started telling him everything that happened before he got to the police station. He told him how he saw Vanjie, he described to him the way she looked, what she was wearing and how he lost her when the driver of her car made that turn. 

Charlie didn’t say anything, he just paid attention to him.

“I swear it was her. I wouldn’t have sped up if it hadn’t been her. I purposely went to her side to double check again if it was her. Then she just—“ Brooke hit one of the arms of the sofa with his fist as he shook his head.

“Brookie—“ Charlie made a pause. “It’s been a year you know, since she passed away.”

Brooke stared back at him, Charlie’s words hurt. He didn’t reply immediately and took a deep breath. “But they never found her body Charlie. They only found some of the pieces of jewelry she wore that day and her handbag inside the car.”

“She was burned when the car got on fire.” Charlie stated firmly. 

“But then today! The car she was in-! Why did they man driving the car started speeding?” Brooke raised his voice. “I can’t remember very well but I think that man saw me for a second and then he started speeding.” 

Brooke had been so focused on Vanjie that he hadn’t paid attention to the man driving the black car. He was only certain that it had been a man. He wished he hadn’t been so caught up in his emotions and had taken a good look at him. It didn’t even occur to him to look at the license plate. 

“That was very dangerous Brookie.”

Brooke stood up and started pacing around the living room with his arms crossed. “I couldn’t help it Charlie! She was right there next to me! The man driving, he knew I had recognized her! That’s why he started speeding! He wanted to get her away from me!”

Charlie didn’t like where all of this was going. He knew Brooke was not going to like what he was about to say.

“You have to let her go Brookie. You have to let her rest in peace. Otherwise this is going to make you sick again. She wouldn’t like that.”

Brooke already knew Charlie was going to tell her something like that. “But what if Charlie? What if she really is alive and someone has her? What if she has no memory of what happened and she was kidnapped?” 

Charlie frowned. “What are you talking about? Who would do that? And why Vanjie?”

“I don’t know but there have been cases.” Brooke kept pacing around Charlie’s living room biting his nails.

“I highly doubt that Brock. Vanjie was a very involved with the media, everyone knew how she looked like. Let’s say you are right and someone has her. If her captor is driving her around like this then definitely one of her followers would have recognized her by now, don’t you think?”

The thought of even supposing someone had Vanjie gave Brook Lynn the chills. But he knew this was true. Back when they were together and they went out, there was not a single day someone wouldn’t recognize her. The person she saw that afternoon in the car, she looked like Vanjie but she was different, he had to look at her twice until he really recognized her.

“She has changed Charlie. She doesn’t look the same. I can’t help to think about that, maybe she needs help. I have to do something!”

Charlie’s expression turned serious. 

“You have to think this rationally Brock. If she had been taken away she would have been found already. The whole world knew her, she would have been rescued by now.”

Brooke remained silent, he didn’t want to admit it but his friend was right. Everyone knew Vanjie. He remembered how in her last DragCon, the line of her meet and greet was so incredibly long that he teased her about it. She was so amazing. 

“It’s been a year now.” Charlie said carefully. “I’m sure she’s happy that you think of her.” 

“He looked so much like her Charlie.” Brooke Lynn covered his face with both hands and started crying quietly. Slowly that little flame of hope that had been lit in his heart when he thought he saw Vanjie in that car, was suddenly blown out. 

Charlie approached his friend and embraced him. “It’s okay Brookie, you are gonna be okay.” Charlie closed his eyes and held him close and tight as he rubbed Brooke’s back reassuringly. “You are going to be okay.”

Charlie had always been there for Brooke Lynn and no matter what and that would never change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Vanjie <3  
> Anyone here that went to DragCon and got to meet her or Brooke Lynn? They seem so nice! That's definitely on my bucket list. Thanks for reading and commenting!


	9. Chapter 9

Brooke stayed over that night. 

They spent the night talking and watching TV until about 3 am that Brooke said he wanted to go to sleep. Charlie took him to the guest room and then headed to the kitchen to finish doing the dishes. 

It took a while for Brooke Lynn to fall asleep. He couldn't stop thinking about this man who looked just like Vanjie. As he laid on his bed he kept repeating in his mind that it hadn't been Vanjie, that it had been someone else. Still with tears in his eyes and swollen eyes, he was finally able to fall asleep about half an hour later.

Charlie had finished cleaning up the kitchen and had stayed on the living room to finish watching an episode of a series in netflix. Once he was done, he headed to his bedroom and as he was passing by the guest room he noticed the door was half open. He quietly approached it and took a peek inside. He saw his friend sleeping, lying on his side all curled up in the blankets.

Something took over him at that moment.

He quietly walked into the bedroom and went to the other side of the bed so that he could see Brooke's face. Charlie could see his pale skin, his long eyelashes and those rosy lips, he was sleeping so peacefully. As he got closer, he kneeled next to the bed and stretched out his hand towards Brooke’s face getting it a few inches away from it. 

It was always like this. 

He was always so close to him but at the same time so far away and there was nothing he could do about it.  Charlie then pulled his stretched hand towards his own chest and grabbed it with his other hand. Softly he took a deep breath, stood up and headed out of the room.

Brock and Charlie's parents were friends. They lived close by in the same neighborhood so they got to spend every other weekend together. When they were little kids they would play together and as they grew older they would go to the mall and hang out along with each other’s friends.

They both came out when they were seventeen. 

Charlie was the first one to come out. They had been riding their bikes for almost 4 hours one afternoon after school that they decided to take a break and lie on the grass. 

“I think I’m gay.” Charlie said staring at the almost black sky.

Brock who was also staring up, looked at him and with a very calm look on his face and voiced his reply. “Me too.”

There was so much trust between the two boys that it went very simple and straightforward. Nothing changed between them afterwards. It was all good until they had to go separate ways to attend college. Charlie wanted to be a journalist and Brock was already training at the National Ballet School of Canada when Charlie had to leave. 

It had been sad for both of them, especially for Charlie because unconsciously he had started developing feelings for Brock. He only realized he had fallen in love with him when he had already moved to college and he didn't have Brock close by anymore. He missed his voice, the way he looked at him and he missed his company. He fantasized almost every night about the day he told him he loved him and Brock reciprocated his love. 

But as time went by, Charlie's fantasy became more unreal. The following years he would see pictures of Brock surrounded by gorgeous, well-built dancers. It made him feel left behind and jealous of these people he didn’t even know. They tried to keep in touch but nothing remained the same as it was when they were younger. Charlie only got to see him two or three times a year at the most since he didn't have that much free time. 

Brock then moved to South Africa and then to the United States pursuing dancing opportunities, he was doing amazingly well. He was a drag queen now, and he was going by the name of Brooke Lynn Hytes. Charlie was very excited for all of his friend's accomplishments but at the same time he felt like he was getting further and further away from Brock.

Charlie had been working in Canada when he got a call about a job opportunity as a reporter for an important newspaper in Nashville. He always wanted to work in the United States so it was a one in a lifetime opportunity he couldn’t refuse. He moved to Nashville and Charlie and Brooke Lynn got to reconnect for a couple of years. Charlie remembered those years as the best of his life. He got to spend time with Brock as never before, they were not children anymore. They got to cook together, travel together but still Charlie never told him his true feelings. He didn’t want to ruin their relationship because he already knew it was one sided love interest.

It all came to an end when he was cast for the eleventh season of Rupaul’s Drag Race.

Charlie was his number one supporter, he had been the one that put together Brooke Lynn's audition video for the show. Charlie always wanted what was best for Brooke so when he asked for his help in editing the video it was an absolute yes. They even were together when he received the news that he had made it on the show. Charlie had never seen Brooke so happy in his entire life. 

He remembered the time when he dropped Brooke off at the airport to go film the show in LA. Charlie gathered the courage to grab Brooke's cheeks and give him a passionate kiss. Brooke had been very surprised at his friend, but calmed down when Charlie said it was only for good luck. He never imagined Brooke would end up finding the love of his life in the show.

About a month passed by and Brooke came back to Nashville an entirely different person. He was smiling all the time, he was always so positive and he was always on his phone. That's when Brooke told him everything about Vanjie. From all the years he had known him, he had never seen him talk about anybody like that.  His Brooke was in love and that broke Charlie's heart. He got to meet Vanjie and even though he tried to find a flaw in him, anything to make him not like him, he couldn't. 

Vanjie was so good to Brooke just as much as himself. 

_ He hated it. _

He hated that Brooke Lynn had found someone special. He hated that it was not him. He wished Vanjie had never appeared in his life. He wished Vanjie was gone.

Months passed and Charlie found out about Vanjie's passing through social media. It was a complete shock for him. Immediately he tried to contact Brooke but he said he was busy looking for her with her family. Once the search was called off, Brooke went back to Nashville and secluded himself at home. 

It was Charlie the one who found him at his house not having eaten in days, not having even showered. He had never seen his friend in such a terrible state of mind that he pretty much dragged him to see a therapist. Charlie was the one to take care of him, to cook for him and tend to anything Brooke needed in order to heal from such loss.  Charlie was there every step of the way.  He had seen his friend suffer so much and all it took for him to recover his sanity.

On his way to bed, he thought about what happened to Brooke and how he kept saying he had seen Vanjie. As he got inside the covers he shook his head thinking that it didn't matter what he saw. He was more than willing to do anything to keep his friend away from pain, even if that meant making him forget Vanjie. 

If he needed his friend to do so, this time he would find a way. 

“I won’t let you do that to yourself Brock.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Charlie is getting his claws out to protect what's most precious to him. He'll make sure nothing hurts Brookie, not even himself.   
> Hope you have been enjoying the story so far. All kinds of criticism are welcome.


	10. Chapter 10

The rest of the ride Mikey was completely passed out due to the effects of the medication his dad had given him.

When he woke up, he could see the first rays of sun for the day coming though his window. He blinked several times and rubbed his eyes trying to clear his sight. He still felt somewhat sleepy even though he had just woken up. This happened every time he took the medication. It had been a while since he had had one of those horrible panic attacks that forced him to take those pills.  He was so upset at his dad right now. Even though he knew that high speed triggered his attacks he still pressed the pedal. He looked at his dad in the front seat through the rear view mirror. He could see him dozing off a little bit from time to time.

“You should stop driving.” He said as he stared at the window. 

The voice of his son woke him up completely. “You’re awake.”

Mikey didn’t say anything, he didn’t even look at him.

“Did you have a good sleep?” He asked him smiling cheerfully.

Mikey gave him an annoyed look through the mirror and rolled his eyes at him. 

“Are you still mad?” The older man let out a small laugh. “Don’t be mad, I had to speed up. I’ll tell you everything later. When we are far enough.”

Mikey frowned deeply. “Far enough? Aren’t we far enough? You’ve been driving for more than 12 hours, where are we going?” He was so tired of seating in a car for so many hours and he didn’t even have a clue where they were heading to. 

“You are going to love it! We’re in Virginia! I’ve heard it’s amazing here!”

Mikey rolled his eyes again. “What are we gonna do here?”

“Not sure yet, but once we get settled in we’ll figure it out.”

“Where exactly are we settling in again?” Mikey asked bothered. He didn’t care that much about the answer, he was just curious.

He raised his voice towards his son getting very annoyed. “Why are you asking so many questions? Just trust me.” 

Mikey wasn’t paying attention to him anyway. He only kept staring absentmindedly at the window as he saw the trees pass by. 

He also wanted to ask him why were they moving again but he knew it was futile. He would never get an answer for it. This was the sixth time they moved in a year and every time he asked his dad why they moved so often, he always got mad. It had even got physical once so he just gave up. He had already got used to moving anyway, or at least that’s what he made himself believe. 

They drove for about five more minutes until they reached a McDonald’s and got breakfast in the drive-thru. 

Later they reached an apartment building. Mikey knew every time they moved they would first stay in an online-rented place until they were able to actually rent a place of their own. That was the only part he liked of every move. The places they got to when they first arrived were always nice and tidy. Once they got to their actual homes they would have to clean it all up by themselves and that always bored him.

His dad parked the car and went to meet with the host who had the key to their apartment. Meanwhile, Mike was finally able to get out and stretch his arms and legs. Even though he had been asleep during most of the ride his body felt stiff. His dad got back to the car and opened the trunk. He took out three large pieces of luggage and gave one to Mike to bring. They headed towards the elevator and got to their apartment. It was a small but cozy two bedroom apartment. Mikey wasted no time, he got to one of the bedrooms and threw himself to the bed. Even though the mattress felt somewhat hard, he felt each and every muscle of his body relax as soon as he touched the bed. The covers were very soft and pleasantly cold. He closed his eyes for a second trying to relax and forget about everything. He laid there for a while until out of nowhere, a word resonated inside his head. 

“Vanjie.” 

It came to him like a whisper in his ear. But he couldn’t make any sense out of it. It meant nothing to him. He tried to not pay attention to it and closed his eyes completely shut, he was so tired. He laid on the bed staring at the ceiling but he couldn’t stop wondering where had he heard that word before. He knew he had heard it somewhere. But where? After a while of thinking and rethinking about it, all of a sudden it came to him. He widened his eyes and sat down on the bed.

The voice of the man in the other car came to his mind. It was very clear to him now what he had been called.

“Vanjie… Vanjie.” He repeated it outloud. This time he could remember the look on the man’s face as he called him ‘Vanjie’ desperately. The car was going so fast he only got to see him briefly since he was terrified to look out the window. The man had light skin and pink rosy lips. His eyes were of a gorgeous color, he couldn’t remember if they were blue or green, he only remembered they shimmered when they made eye contact for a second. His hair was light brown and curly. He had never seen anybody so handsome. 

But again, why would he call him ‘Vanjie’? For a second he thought about asking his dad. But he knew already he wouldn’t give him an answer. He laid back again on the bed.  Next time he got access to a phone with internet he would definitely look it up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very sorry for the late reply. I will definitely try to be more consistent with this one. Vanjie is okay... for now.


	11. Chapter 11

When Mikey woke up it was almost one in the afternoon.

It didn’t surprise him he had slept that long. The pills he took for his panic attacks always left him drowsy for almost twenty four hours. He hated that it took about a day to recover after taking them, but he had no choice. His mental state had always been so fragile, at least as far as he could remember. His dad always had them at hand in case he felt he was about to have a panic attack. If he didn’t take them at the time of an attack, he genuinely felt like he would die. 

Mikey got out of the room to the living room right on time to see his dad come into the apartment. He had two McDonald’s paper bags with him.

“I got us lunch.” He said as he closed the door behind him and placed the bags on the table. “You can never go wrong with McDonalds.”

Mikey wasn’t a huge fan of chicken or meat, but he was in no position to complain. He was starving. “Is it chicken nuggets?” He asked his dad hopeful, since it was the only thing he partially liked from McDonalds.

“Yup! 20 piece.” He said as he placed the bag in front of his son.

Mikey let out a resigned sigh. They both sat down at the table and took their food out of the bags.  “Did you find a good place for us?” Mikey asked. 

“Of course I did. It’s got only one bedroom though, but you can keep it. I’ll sleep in the living room. I also got a job.”

Mikey didn’t say anything. It always surprised him how quick his dad would always find a place for both of them to live and a job. “When are we moving there?” 

“Tomorrow. It’s not far from here. The area is alright. You’re going to like it.” His dad replied to him with his mouth full. 

Mikey rolled his eyes at his dad. “It’s not like I’m gonna be out and around anyway. Why do I care the area is alright?” 

“Because you need to be safe son. You know there can’t be much noise out. It’s been a year but you are still not fully healed from the accident.”

“I’m getting better though.”

“Yes and your mom would be so happy that you are getting back to normal.” 

‘My mom’ He thought. He felt sad every time his dad mentioned her because he didn’t remember anything about her. 

He didn’t remember absolutely anything before the accident.

“I wish I could remember her dad.”

“I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures of her. All of the family albums got lost in the fire.”

“I know.” Even though it made him sad not being able to remember his mom, it also made him very frustrated. “I really can’t process why I can’t remember her. She raised me and because of that stupid accident, I forgot her? It doesn’t make sense! It’s stupid!”

His dad could see Mikey was starting to get upset. “It’s okay my boy. We’ve been through a lot.At first you couldn’t even remember me. I had to put my name on the walls until you could memorize it, remember? The entire room had the word ‘Marco’ on it. Maybe in a couple of months you will remember everything. Just give it some time”

Mikey looked at his dad. “It’s been a year and all I remember is waking up in this horrible room and you there right next to me. That’s it.” Mikey sighed. “I feel bad for mom.”

“I’m sure she doesn’t mind.” Marco looked away and rolled his eyes. “Wherever she is…”

Mikey placed his elbow on the table and rested his cheek on his knuckles. “Sometimes I dream about her, you know?”

The statement made Marco stop chewing his food. He looked at Mikey concerned.

“I see her with long curly brown hair, eyes just like mine and gorgeous red lips. Always smiling.” Mikey had a huge smile on his face as he described his mom the way he saw her in his dreams.

His dad suddenly frowned thoughtful, his eyes moving from left to right as trying to figure out what to do with the situation. “Miguel, I don’t think you are picturing your mom right. She was as old as me and she never had long hair.”

Mikey frowned. “But I saw her dad. I see a pretty lady hugging and kissing me.” He said as he chewed his food happily. “If she’s not mom then who is she? Did we know anyone like that?” Mikey said as he got back to eating his food.

“Maybe those are your fantasies.” His dad said laughing.

Mikey looked at him and then rolled his eyes at him shaking his head.

“Rest all you want today because tomorrow we got a new place to clean and we also need to get back to work.” He stood up, went to the living room and turned on the TV. 

Mikey stopped paying attention to him and got back to eating his food. Then all of a sudden, the name he was thinking about earlier in the day came to his mind. ‘Vanjie’ He thought about it for a while. He had no idea what that was and there was only one way to know.  “Dad, can I borrow your phone for a second?”

“What for?” His dad said as he watched TV.

“I want to look something up.” 

“What is it?”

“What’s Vanjie?”

The question hit Marco like a bucket of ice being dropped on him. He lowered the volume on the TV and gave Mikey an infuriated look. 

As soon as Mikey saw his dad’s expression he knew the conversation regarding the matter was not going to end well, but he risked it anyway. “You told me you would tell me later about what happened in the car yesterday. Now is later. Why was that man was calling me Vanjie?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I should be studying... Should this be continued?


	12. Chapter 12

His dad stood up from the sofa and turned towards him. Mikey could tell just by looking at his deep frown and wide eyes that his dad was furious. His arms slightly spread as he approached Mikey in a very threatening way. He didn’t say a word as he approached him, he only stared at him straight in the eyes. 

Mikey knew he had upset his dad. He felt fear trying to take over him but it diminished once his determination to find out the truth about what happened the day prior in the car took over him. His dad got close to him, almost a feet away and looked down on him. 

It had been almost a year since Marco had last heard the mention of that name. Back then at the time of the accident, he heard it all the time and everywhere. It drove him mad. It had been so difficult for him to rebuild his life and at the same time get away from all the commotion the accident caused.  The mention of that word was like a trigger to him. In his mind, it only translated to fight or flight. Now the last person on earth who needed to be aware of that word had just pronounced it. It couldn’t happen. This was not happening.

Marco pointed his finger towards Mikey. “Don’t you ever— say that word— again.” Marco stated very slowly, giving strong emphasis to every single word.

Mikey had never seen his father so mad. His eyes were so wide open and fixated on him, it almost seemed as if his eyes were about to pop out of his face.

“I was just asking you what it means.” Mikey replied shrugging his shoulders and looking away, trying to make himself sound like he didn't care and he wasn't that interested in knowing the answer. Even though on the inside, he was terrified. “Yesterday that man called me that and I wanted to know what it was.” He gathered the courage to look back at his dad. He knew he was really pushing it but he was curious, he wanted to know.

“Shut up Miguel!” Marco yelled at him making a fist and hitting the table awfully close to where Mikey’s arm was resting. Mikey flinched letting out a small gasp and pulling his arm towards himself. The sound of the hit scared Mikey so much he felt his breathing becoming faster and chills run through his entire body. 

Marco then turned around, grabbed his head with both hands and walked a few steps away from Mikey. “Damn it!” He closed his eyes trying to calm himself down.  It had caught him completely off guard. He had forgotten about what happened the day prior and he hadn’t thought about what he was going to say to his son about it. 

_ His son had been recognized.  _

He had barely managed to escape. If that man would have caught up to them, it would have been the end of him and he would have ended up in jail once again. That couldn’t happen. He couldn’t go back to jail. He was willing to do everything in his power to maintain his freedom.  Just the mention of that name the day before was a huge threat for him. Marco hated the mention of that name. It brought him back to the day of the accident. 

An accident that had been the end of him. 

_ An accident he had caused. _

He couldn’t let his son make out anything of that name. He needed him to completely forget about it. They had already started a new life with new identities, he couldn’t let this be a drawback.  Marco closed his eyes and took several deep breaths until he was able to calm down a bit. He then turned around and saw his son still sitting on the table. His eyes fixated on the wall right in front of him, with a completely blank stare on his face. 

Mikey was scared to look at his dad. He only felt him getting closer. He was relieved when he saw him sit down on the chair opposite of him. He was still scared to look at him, but after a few seconds of them just sitting opposite to each other, they made eye contact. His dad still upset but he didn't look as angry as before. 

“Look Mikey.” His dad’s tone was calmer but it still sounded upset. “A vanjie guy or girl is a person that comes, let’s say ‘from the hood.’ Some people say they are ghetto.”He said while making quote signs with his fingers. “They dress funny… they are different.” Marco didn’t really know what exactly it meant so he just quickly changed the subject. “Look I’m not really sure what it means but what I’m trying to say here is that you should never say that word.”

Mikey looked puzzled. 

Marco realized he was not coming off the way he had intended so he had to think of something else quick. He needed a strong motive to make his son forget about that word once and for all. “I have not been telling you the whole truth regarding the accident that caused our house to get on fire Mikey. Your mental health has always been my main priority and I was scared of how you would react to the truth.”

Now Mikey was the one who was caught on the spot. "What truth?" He widened his eyes at his dad.

“I need you to remain calm through everything that I'm about to say, okay?"

Mikey frowned and nodded.

"The fire that killed your mom was never an accident.” Marco looked at his son straight in the eyes.

Mikey widened his eyes, he was beyond shocked. 

“A man that wanted me dead sent people to set our house on fire with you and mom in it. They wanted to get back at me by hurting you.”

Mikey could not believe his dad's words. His intention had only been to know what Vanjie meant. Now he was finding out something so horrible he could almost feel his hands shaking.

“The people that wanted to hurt you... they called you ‘Vanjie.’”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Never, ever say the word 'Vanjie' or they will come to get you."  
> Who the hell is this awful man that has our poor Vanjie? Why is he doing this?


	13. Chapter 13

Time stopped for Mikey. 

“What? What are you talking about?” He stood up from the table. Suddenly he felt the urge to escape and get away from there. “What did you do?” Mikey said progressively raising his voice as he walked backwards still facing his dad. “Why would they want to kill me and my mom?! What did you do?!” He was breathing so fast, he was so agitated.

Marco noticed how bad the situation had become just by looking at how distressed his son was. “I’ll tell you! But first you need to calm down or I’ll call it a day!” He looked at his son in a threatening way.

Mikey was so afraid. “You are telling me someone tried to kill me! How do you want me to be calm after that?” He yelled at his father.

“Those times were long gone!” He spoke as if what he had just said hadn’t been that serious and everything was okay. He then looked at Mikey and he saw him still shaken, leaning towards the wall staring back at him. He knew he was about to have panic attack. Marco’s patience was running low. “Either you calm down or I’m out of here!” Marco yelled at him standing up from his chair and staring at him defiantly. 

Mikey was shocked at how could his dad be reacting like this after what he had just said. He covered his face with both hands and also closed his eyes. He knew he was not going to get anything out of his dad unless he at least tried to remain calm. He took a couple of deep breaths even though on the inside he felt like he was about to have a panic attack at anytime.  He needed to know the truth. His dad had always been avoiding the subject of why they moved so often. This was his only chance, he couldn’t ruin it for himself. It took everything he had in him to not give in to the panic attack which he could feel was trying to take over him. He closed his eyes and showed his palms to his dad signaling him to give him some time. After a couple of minutes of deep breaths and telling himself mentally everything would be alright he was finally calm. He needed to be if he wanted to hear the whole truth. 

He then walked back to the table, pulled the chair and sat down with his hands on his lap.  “Just tell me the truth.” Mikey said sounding very exhausted. “Please.”

Marco looked at him with a deep frown. He knew this time would someday come. It was time to tell him his truth.

“Five years ago I started working for a very large german electronics company. I was doing fine until then one day the secretary of the owner came looking for me with two cops. I didn’t know what they wanted but since I didn’t do anything wrong I went along with them.”

Mikey’s eyes were fixated on his dad, carefully paying attention to every single word.

“Once in the office, the owner told me that he was going to sue me for sending the company’s top secret information to its competitors.”

Mikey widened his eyes and then frowned. 

“I promise I didn’t do it. The owner said he had proof and when he showed it to me, all the evidence was made up. I was framed. It was not real, but it all pointed to me. It made me look as if I was really stealing their info and passing it on to others. The owner said he wouldn’t press charges but instead he said I was going to pay a very high price for messing with his company.” 

Marco slowly shook his head still attentive to his dad. 

“That was the night son, that I came back home and I found my house on fire. It was no accident. That man wanted to hurt me by hurting the people I loved the most in the world, you and your mom. We lost your mom but you are still here son.”

Mikey was terrified at what he was listening to. He would have rather not known any of this. He regretted so much wanting to know the truth now.  “Let’s call the cops dad! We have to do something about it!” Mikey raised his voice desperately.

Marco then grabbed his son’s hand. “We can’t do that. They are too powerful. They will find us and they will hurt us. They have found us before, and they found us yesterday.”

“What?” Mikey’s frown deepened confused.

“Remember that time we were in Seattle and the landlady didn’t want us to leave?”

Mikey tried to remember and then nodded. “Yes.”

“She was a lady that used to work for them. He had called them and they were coming for us.”

Mikey remembered it very clearly, he had been so scared. “We left everything and escaped through the window.”

“It happened again yesterday. That’s why we had to get away from there as soon as possible.”

“Yesterday? What do you mean?”

“That word you said, ‘Vanjie’ it’s not really what it sounds. Before they burned our house down, they wrote in one of the walls ‘Von jetzt an bist du tot.’ That’s german for ‘From now on you are dead.’ That was the name of the mission this man initiated to get rid of me, of us.”

Mikey's eyes were so wide. He was terrified.

“The people that actually carried out the mission and put our house on fire, they called the operation ‘Vanjie’ for short. Their work wasn’t finished. They know we are alive. They are still coming for us Mikey. That’s why yesterday we had to get away from there as soon as possible. If you hear that word, or if you ever see that man again, run Mikey. They are the people that want to kill you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Geez. This Marco guy is twisted. What are his intentions? What does he want to do with his son? Just...Why?  
> Theories anyone?


	14. Chapter 14

It took everything Mikey got to not scream and start crying over what his dad had just said. 

He tried to remain as composed as possible as he finished listening to his dad. But once he heard his last words, he had heard enough. It was too much for him, he needed to get out of there. Quick.

“I— I need to go take a nap.” Without letting his distress show on his face, he stood up and went to the only safe place he could think off at the moment, his room. He went inside, locked himself in and leaned his back on the door. He felt tears rolling down his cheeks as he covered his face with both hands in disbelief.

“Mikey? Son, are you okay?” Mikey flinched as he felt his dad knocking on the door behind him. He looked at the ceiling and closed his eyes. He then took slow deep breaths and wiped off his tears. “I’m fine dad. I just need to rest for a while. I got a headache.” He lied. He could feel a panic attack trying to take over him but he couldn’t let it win. He needed to be on his right mind if he wanted to process everything his dad had just told him. 

“Is it a panic attack? Let me in! I’ll give you your pills—!” 

“No!” At the mention of his pills Mikey immediately reacted and got back to his senses. “I’ll— I’ll be okay dad. I just need some sleep! I’ll continue talking to you after I take a nap.” He was trying so hard to sound calm enough just to make his dad think he was okay.

“Alright son. I’ll be outside. Just don’t lock the door.”

"Okay." Mikey heard his dad’s footsteps get away from the door. Once he was certain his dad was far enough, Mikey covered his mouth and immediately threw himself on the bed. His breathing and his heartbeat became so fast, he thought his heart would beat out of his chest. He started sobbing into his pillow trying to be as quiet as possible. His world had suddenly turned upside down. The past year had been a terrible lie. 

The most horrible part of it all, what hurt the most was the loss of his mom to the hands of evil people that wrongly accused his dad of spying. His mom was innocent. Why did they have to hurt her? Tears kept coming as he thought about her. She had been taken away from him in the most sinister way. Even though his memories of his mom were not that clear, he was certain she had been the kindest and most loving human being. He dreamt about her, he saw her holding him, hugging him and loving him. He couldn’t understand why he and his mom had been targeted. 

He then remembered he was a target too.

The same people that murdered his mom were also out to get him and the previous day they had almost got him. That man in the car recognized him. He and his dad would be dead if they hadn’t sped up. The man would have caught up to them. Now he was starting to get a real headache as he thought about everything.

He never imagined asking the meaning of the word Vanjie would come with such awful revelation. Now he understood why his dad was always so worried about him and his safety. Now he knew the reason why they didn’t spend more than two months in a city and moved so often. They had been running away all along. They needed to do this if they wanted to survive. 

The facts were clear, but with the headache getting gradually stronger it was getting too much for him. He really needed to clear his mind, at least for a little while. He needed to calm down. He closed his eyes and shortly after, without realizing it, he fell asleep. 

Some hours later, he abruptly woke up in the middle of a dream. He was so shaken by it, it made him sit down flinching as soon as he opened his eyes. He looked around and realized he was still in his room. He sighed throwing himself back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He placed the crook of his elbow right above his eyes and closed them trying to remember what he had just dreamed.

He dreamed he was a dancer. He was on a stage dancing in front of hundreds of people. There were also other men dancing next to him. All the lights were pointed right at him. He was happy and he was definitely enjoying every second of it. The crowd screamed and cheered him on offering him money. He liked everything about the dream until he remembered the reason why he woke up startled. At the end of his presentation, the audience started screaming ‘Vanjie’ repeatedly. At first for some reason he felt happy when they were all yelling that. But then all of a sudden he could hear his dad’s voice in his head telling him what Vanjie really was. He felt surrounded it gave him goosebumps. It made him want to get out of that stage as soon as possible. Right when he was about to do that, he felt someone pulling his hand from the other direction. He turned and right next to him holding his hand there was the man from the car from the other day. That’s when he woke up. 

He looked at the window, it was still dark. He checked his watch, it was almost five in the morning. He had spent almost the entire day sleeping. He sat down on the bed, hugged his knees to his chest and buried his face in them as he thought about the conversation his dad and him had the day prior one more time. 

He was still in disbelief. Before he found out the meaning of the word Vanjie, he actually liked the sound of it. It didn’t even cross his mind it would mean something so bad. To the contrary, listening to it for some reason made him want to laugh. Also, since the man in the car had been yelling that to him, he first thought it was a person's name.  He believed his dad. He trusted him, but still he couldn't help thinking something didn’t feel right. 

He felt the urge to look the word up. He had this feeling there was more to it that just the name of a mission. He felt his dad was not telling him everything. It had to have a different meaning other than what he had been told.

He sat on the edge of his bed for a little while, his eyes felt heavy from all he cried the night before. He then stood up and quietly opened the door of his room. It was dark in the living room but he was still able to see his dad’s silhouette laying on the couch.  He was fast asleep. He went back to his room to get a blanket to cover him up. He then  approached him and right when he was about to place the blanket on him he looked at the small table on the side. Right on top, there was his dad’s phone. 

His hands immediately froze. He let the blanket he was holding on fall to the floor. His eyes were set on the phone, he felt as if a magnet coming from the device pulled his hands towards it. Right before he touched it he looked back at his dad again to make sure he was fully asleep. His dad was completely passed out. He had been driving for so long with no sleep whatsoever and when they got to the rented apartment he left straight away to look for a place to live and a new job. He probably would not wake up for at least a couple of hours. 

This was his chance. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He has doubts. He's in disbelief, in denial. And rightly so.   
> He has his dad's phone at reach, will he be able to look the word up? Or will things get ugly?


	15. Chapter 15

He was so close to grabbing his dad’s phone, mere couple of inches.

He looked at his dad again once again confirming he was completely passed out and quickly grabbed the phone with both hands.

It was locked. 

His dad changed the lock number every time they moved. But he knew ever since they got there his dad had been busy, so there was a good chance he still hadn’t done it yet. He rapidly pressed the only button the phone had and the number pad came on. He pressed what he believed was the code and he successfully unlocked the device. 

He smiled widely triumphant. His dad hadn’t changed it yet. He then quickly went on google and typed in the word expectantly.

The results immediately showed on the screen. He looked at them very carefully. He widened his eyes. He was not expecting for something like that to show up. It said in the screen that the word he typed in ‘Banjee’ was used to describe young people who had sex with men, dressed in a certain type of way and hid their sexual orientation. 

He frowned very confused. This couldn’t be it. 

He scrolled down and kept seeing the same thing over and over again. It didn’t make sense to him. He had this strong feeling that the word Banjee meant something else, something more important. Every time he heard it, it evoked a strong feeling of happiness and fulfillment within him. The results on the phone didn’t seem right. He was so baffled.

“Mikey.” He heard his dad mumble in his sleep causing him to flinch and accidentally drop the phone. The sound of the phone touching the tile floor got Mikey back to his senses. He quickly grabbed the phone with one hand closing the browser tab on which he had done the search. He then put his other hand on his dad’s arm right on time to see him waking up after he heard the sound of the phone’s fall.

“Good morning dad.” Mikey smiled kneeling next to him.

His dad looked around wiping his eyes still not fully awake. “Hey Mikey.” He said lifting his head and looking around. “I thought I heard something.” 

“Your phone fell on the floor. You left it right next to you on the couch.” He said as he pretended to pick up the phone which was already on his hand and handed it over to his dad. 

“Oh crap.” He said receiving the phone and rolling his eyes. 

“Let’s go out for breakfast dad.” Mikey said still kneeling next to his dad and slightly pressing his arm. “Let’s go have pancakes how about that?” The last thing Mike wanted was for his dad to suspect he had been on his phone. He had to pretend everything was okay.

“You are in a good mood today, huh?” His dad said still not fully awake.

Mikey faked a smiled and nodded.

Marco seemed it was strange his son was in such good mood after what had taken place the day prior. Emotions had been skin deep in both men. Mikey had been so distressed, Marco thought he would have a panic attach. Marco looked at his son, he looked very at peace so he opted to not mention anything.

“Alright. Pancakes it is.” He said standing up to the bathroom. 

As he saw his dad walk away from him, Mikey's smile faded. At the moment, there was nothing else he could do. Contrary to what he had thought, the word Banjee didn’t mean anything important. He was so disappointed. For a minute he had been hopeful it meant something different than what his dad had told him.

He then started to slowly shake his head thoughtful. For his own wellbeing, it was better if he focused more on the fact that he had to stay alive. There was people out there that were trying to get rid of him. They had already got his mom and by no means would they get him. If staying alive meant listening to his dad and hiding where he seemed right then he would do that. He still had to find a way to control his fear of speed and his panic attacks, they were a huge hurdle for him. Once he did that, he would be able to live a life as an adult and on his own. 

Until then, he had no choice.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

On the other side of the country, Brook woke up late.

He had slept over at his best friend's house. It took him a minute to remember why he hadn’t gone back home. When it came to him, he widened his eyes first panicking for a second but then as he remember what happened in the police station and then with Charlie, he closed his eyes again and covered them with the crook of his elbow sighing. 

He was embarrassed and disappointed. 

The day before he had thought he had seen Vanjie in the car next to him. It had been so vivid, so real. He had told his friend about it but he insisted his mind was playing tricks on him. Brooke knew Charlie was right. Vanjie had passed away almost a year ago. She was gone. How on earth could he have seen her?

He closed his eyes again and shook his head. It couldn’t have been her. He had to remind himself again and again it hadn’t been her, otherwise horrible thoughts on the possibilities of the things that could have happened to her came to his mind. 

_ Kidnapping. _

_ Manipulation. _

_ Human Trafficking. _

He couldn’t even continue thinking about them, it made him sick to his stomach. He had to let her go, for his well being and also for Vanjie. So that she could rest in peace and so that he could go on living.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update.  
> Next chapter will take place about one year later. There will be changes in both of the queen's lives due to their development in their different circumstances and surroundings.  
> Thanks for reading!


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